This invention relates generally to a line reel and, more particularly, to such a reel having a crank for rewinding line on the reel which can be locked or unlocked as desired.
In the prior art, line reels are known. Typically, in a line reel such as a chalk line reel, a spool of line is journaled within a chalk-filled housing so that line unwound from the spool end and payed out of the housing is covered with chalk. In one form of prior art reels, a crank directly drives the spool. In another form, gears are employed to drive the spool and increase the rate at which the line may be rewound.
During use, it may be desirable to manually pull the chalk line from the spool until the required length of line has been extended from the housing. At other times, it may be desirable to prevent the line from being pulled from the housing as, for example, when the line is being used to mark a guide line. In conventional direct drive and gear drive reels, manual extension of the line causes the crank to turn, while the line can only be locked by manually holding the crank fixed relative to the housing. Clearly, this kind of operation is not desirable.
A clutch mechanism has been provided to release the crank from the spool to permit unwinding of line from the spool without causing the crank to be turned. The above clutched reel also has a structural configuration permitting the spool to be locked in position. However, no means has been provided to positively maintain the spool in a locked position until affirmatively released by the operator.